Being
Vegetarian

Dear
Children,

Our
ancestors recommended a vegetarian diet. Do you know what it
means 'to be a vegetarian? Well as the name suggests, it means
'to eat vegetables (and no meat). One of the reasons, why our
ancestors recommended a vegetarian diet is that, they did not
approve of killing animals to eat their flesh. The other
reason is that by eating Vegetarian food the mind becomes
conducive to meditation.

Today,
new biological discoveries tend to show that flesh eating is
not essential for good health and some biologists are even of
the opinion that flesh eaters are more susceptible to illness
than vegetarians.

The
ancient Hindus were however not fanatic about whether to eat
meat or abstain from it but looked more Into the practical
aspect.

A
Certain sect of Hindus. the Sindhis, are told to eat fish only
on the day of the new moon. As mentioned earlier, the moon has
an effect on the tides of the ocean, hence on the fishing.
There are certain kinds of fish that tend to come to the
surface during that time. The catch of the fish is easier.
Fish, being a perishable commodity, is better consumed as soon
as possible. So if you are not a vegetarian, would it not make
more sense if you eat fish on new moon day when fish would
probably be cheaper and fresher? Of course, I am talking of
the time when this custom started when cold storage, as we
know it, did not exist.

Certain
sections of modern English-speaking Hindus believe that one
should not eat fish during the months that have no 'R' in it
i.e. May. June. July. August. Note that the months coincide
with rainy months in India during which fishing is a problem.

As
a matter of fact many Hindus observe the "Chaumasa".
During these months, Hindus abstain from meat and perform
fasts and prayers. Because of the rainy season, vegetables are
plentiful and fresh. Besides most of our important Indian
festivals fall during these months namely Ramzan,
Nagapanchami, Dussera, Nariel purnima, Janmastami, etc.

With
love,
Dadi Ma Nani Ma

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